The Meaning of Forever
by Cresenta's Lark
Summary: "You said you'd change…" Sam whispered watching him with heartbroken eyes. "You … you promised you'd give up crime." He looked at her dead in the eye and smirked as he sat there again in his usual jail cell. "Promises are meant to be broken," he said coldly, rage tinting the beautiful sea foam eyes she'd fallen in love with. "Who would know that better than you Samantha?" Sam/Scam


Moar new thingsssssssss. I opened a gate and all these new ideas keep coming it seems lol. XD I legit got **3 more new ideas** today alone. But those are for another day!

And I will update my _old fics_ as well dw. I just wanted to post some new things since my "total stories written by this author" had been stuck at like 54 (?) for years now and I didn't like that. XD

It's been raining non-stop in my neck of the woods so I got in the mood to write something more … poignant? You'll see. :D

 **Disclaimer: If TS was mine Sam/Scam would have seafoam-eyed, genius, super babies by now. Not even kidding there folks. Do they have babies yet? No? Well there you go, TS doesn't belong to me. Easy way to tell. :P**

Onto the story!

* * *

Fatigue plagued her mind and body as she sat there slightly slumped over in the padded, leather office chair in Jerry's (now her) office staring at the screen of the laptop where a key update to WOOHP's security system was being processed. Just one in the long list of her new responsibilities.

Lifting her hands she brought them to her head and slowly rubbed her temples with her fingers in a circling motion to try and relieve the raging headache she had but it didn't seem to do any good. And she knew why, the stress she was undergoing right now was just far too much for her to cope with. It was overwhelming. Being a spy had been exhausting enough but now with her more or less being forced to take over as the leader with the circumstances that had sprung up out of nowhere, she almost wanted to …

She sighed, biting her lip in a forlorn way as painful thoughts plagued her mind. Thoughts that no matter what she did, she was unable to chase away.

She almost wanted to just run away from WOOHP entirely, leave all of this behind and go back to being a normal young woman. Something she hadn't been in years now. Something that she had been just one day away from becoming had things gone the way she had planned. The way _they_ had both had intended … until everything fell apart. Until it all blew up in their faces.

Thoughts of a certain someone that she missed so badly that it made her body ache and her soul feel as if it were being wrung out from inside her filled her mind. And immediately she felt her face fall as tears welled up in her emerald eyes again as she thought of him.

Thought about the man she had come to love more than anyone. The love of her life. The very one that had just mere days ago made his feelings for her official by getting down on one knee in the home he had purchased for them to begin their lives in together and asked her to be his wife. The same she'd said yes to in a heartbeat while feeling like the luckiest woman alive…

The same who was now no longer picking up her phone calls and was doing his best to avoid her at every turn. The same man that now said he hated her. _Again._

Suddenly she felt a coldness come over her even though the heat was on full blast in the building. Rubbing her arms she grew sadder as she knew why she felt this chill. She wasn't freezing, she was just longing for the warmth and comfort of those strong arms. It felt like it had been years since he'd taken her in his arms. Decades, even though she knew it had only been just a few days. _Two days._

Exactly two days ago. Two days ago when her life had gone spiralling out of control and separated him from her. Had he held her for the last time she asked herself? Was he never going to console her again? Never going to pull her close to his heart and whisper those words to her in his honey sweet voice that made her feel like the most blessed woman to ever have been born? Was all that a thing of a past? Were _they_ over?

Shaking her head in disbelief she refused to believe that. No she couldn't bring herself to accept that even if reality was staring her in the face. Because she couldn't give up on him. She wouldn't. Not after everything they had been through together.

Her eyes glanced at her left hand at the diamond ring that shone on her ring finger. The one he had placed there. No, their bond was stronger than this. _Much_ stronger. One way or another they would get through this. They had to.

Reassuring herself, Sam decided that she would make another attempt to get him to forgive her as soon as most of WOOHP shut down for the night and she would be able to sneak away as long as there was no unexpected commotion. Then she would go to him and ask him again to just let her in. She was determined to make him open the door and let her in. Just for a moment.

All she needed was for him to let her in again just once, just the way he had so courageously taken a leap of faith and let her in the very first time. If she could just talk to him again she'd knew she'd make him understand. She'd make him see how miserable, how sad… how incomplete she was without him.

Hearing the phone ring suddenly Sam sealed her eyes in agony. "No…" she sighed out tiredly hoping like mad that this wasn't about something that had happened that was going to require her to stay any longer at WOOHP today. "Please no more…" She really had to go. It had been too long already.

Hearing the phone ringing even though she did her best to ignore it, her resolve was broken when she remembered the job she held and how many people counted on her. As much as she wanted to just not do this, she had no choice. She couldn't let Jerry down. He trusted her to do his job now and to do it right. Bottling up her frustration she picked up the phone and put it against her ear.

"Yes?" she said, trying her best to not sound as agitated as she felt.

But the moment she realized what the phone call was about her heart sank in her chest. She had just been informed that a big enemy of WOOHP's that had been laying dormant for several months now had just been arrested after they had brutally attacked a WOOHP agent and they just wanted to deliver to her the good news of his capture.

Biting her lip to try and stop her brain from going there but unable to help herself, Sam said a silent prayer in her thoughts before asking the name of the captive. It couldn't be him. Please God, not _him_. Anyone but him. He couldn't have already decided to do this. She knew he was furious and hurting but still! He couldn't have! Not so soon!

"Tim Scam," she heard from the other end and immediately went as pale and stiff as death. All at once her already horrible day, her life that had been a living nightmare in the last 48 hours just became so much worse. Became purgatory and hell.

She should have seen this coming.

Instantly the look on his face from the last time she had seen him came back to haunt her. That frown, that hateful glare, that stormy, wild look of revenge that promised unimaginable suffering on the one that had angered him. On _her._

"…Where is he?" she asked right away, knowing she had to speak to him. And when she was informed that he was in his usual isolation jail cell she hung up before standing up and walking down to the prison sector with shaky knees as she did her best not to crumble right then and there at this newest blow to her which hurt the most. Once again, and after so long, despite fighting so hard to not have this happen … they were on opposite sides again. She was at odds once more with Tim Scam.

 _Her fiancée._

* * *

Stopping just outside his cell Sam turned to the guard that stood there and told him to unlock it for her and then leave. The guard gave her a look of confusion, obviously wondering why she wanted to be alone with the living danger that was Tim Scam before he left knowing she was his boss and he had to do what she said.

Standing there for a moment Sam did her best to work up her nerve before she walked inside the dimly lit cell. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the dark as she searched for him still hoping somehow that he wouldn't be here, that they'd caught someone else and mistaken them for him, that he hadn't done this only to stop short a moment later when she saw him sitting there with his back leaned against the wall.

And seeing him dressed in the orange WOOHP prison tracksuit once again, something she thought she'd never have to see again as long as she lived, she felt as if he had stabbed her right in her heart with his own two hands. He was back wasn't he? Her enemy was back and her lover? He was gone forever.

A sad whimper left her which he picked up on with his sharp hearing. In response his eyes snapped open and zeroed in on her standing there before him and he sent her a smirk. An unforgiving, hateful, hurtful _smirk_.

"Well, well, well…" he drawled as he turned his head towards her all the way and smirked harder while his eyes hurled a hundred profanities at her with the way he looked at her with so much venom. "What's Queen Samantha doing down here in the dungeons paying the scum of society, the heathens like myself a visit?" he said rudely.

And hearing his words she struggled to hold back tears as he looked at him with nothing but heartbrokenness stamped all over her face at how much he had changed in just in so little time. How much he'd become like his old, hateful self. The man that hated everyone and everything.

"You should leave," he went on. "You don't want to be seen associating with a criminal like me. WOOHP won't respect you as a leader. WOOHP won't trust you. They'll doubt your intentions. They'll think you have some special reason to see me-"

"Don't I?" she cut him off, pain clear in her voice as she waited for his reply.

"No," he said coldly leaving her already broken heart to shatter into even smaller pieces. And while she was trying to recover from that he added in an even more angered growl, "What valid reason would you have to pay a criminal, one of WOOHP's worst enemies a visit? I can't think of any."

Taking a step closer to him bravely, Sam fixed him with an unwavering stare filled with honesty. "You and I both know that you're not just _some_ criminal. Not to me," she said, her tone heartfelt and revealing all the longing in her heart that she felt just for him.

But he just let out a small chuckle of amusement and snickered at her. Her words having no effect on him whatsoever. "Sure," he said letting out a small yawn of boredom before bothering to speak to her again. "If you're here to gloat about my being arrested let me just inform you that I _will_ get out of here just like I always used to and I will continue to cause chaos for your precious WOOHP. I won't rest…" he said, grinning darkly. "Not until the day that I see WOOHP burn to the ground."

"You won't do that!" Sam said firmly, ignoring his threat because she couldn't bring herself to believe it was real. Tim, _her_ Tim would never carry it out. No he was just saying this to her because he was mad. He wouldn't actually do it. There was no way he would! Not after the vow they had made to each other. Tim was a man of his word, he wouldn't go back on it. Never.

He seemed to sense her denial as he gave her a challenging stare and nodded his head while smirking at her again. "Oh I assure you that I will. Make no mistake about that."

Feeling despair fill her at everything he was saying Sam wondered what to do, what to say to get him to snap out of this. The man that loved her was still in there somewhere. She just had to get to him. She had to save him before his rage killed him off.

"You said you'd change…" Sam whispered sadly, looking at him with crestfallen eyes as she reminded him of his pledge to her. "You … you promised you'd give up crime."

The moment she said that his mood shifted. His could feel the façade of his careless demeanor that he had been projecting start to fade away rapidly as nothing but betrayal and hurt filled him. And he asked himself, how dare she bring that up? That promise? That vow? When she hadn't kept up her end?

What? Did she really think, was she _really_ so naïve to think that she'd get to take everything and give nothing in return? That she'd get to cheat him and he'd just let her get away with it? No. Never. And he'd remind her of that fact.

Scam looked at her dead in the eye and smirked heartlessly. "Promises are meant to be broken," he said coldly, rage tinting the beautiful sea foam eyes she'd fallen in love with turning them nearly blood red as he sneered at her. "Who would know that better than you … Samantha?"

Hearing her go silent and look down at her feet in shame the second he said that he couldn't help but feel satisfied and vindicated. At the very least she at least knew she was the one who had messed up. That she was the one who had ruined things. _Ended_ things. _Her_ and not _him_.

"… I had no choice," he heard her say quietly a moment after and he could scream in anger at that. He hated her saying that. Her trying to pretend she was innocent in what had happened. Trying to deflect blame off of herself for what she'd done. Saying that lie. That bullshit to him. Him, the man she claimed to have loved. The one she was supposed to put above all else. Above _all else_.

And he stood up slowly with his posture defensive, his fists curled at his sides, his nails starting to cut into his palms as he struggled to leash his temper.

"You did," he said damningly.

"I didn't," she objected weakly.

"You **did** ," he said, accusation in his tone as he glared away at her, not even attempting to mask his feelings now because it was impossible. "And you made it," he said, his normally smooth voice almost trembling with anguish at this point. "You chose WOOHP over me… now live with it."

The bluntness of his words, the distress in his voice left her stunned. She could feel his dejection as she stood there before him and it made her feel worthless at the knowledge that she was the reason for his pain and suffering when she was the one who had promised to always keep him happy.

For some reason he had the idea that to her, WOOHP came first. That he was second place and always had been. But he was wrong. She incredibly wrong. She hadn't chosen WOOHP over him. She had never been _given_ a choice. And she had to make him see that.

"I didn't," she said, her tears now threatening to fall at how he wasn't understanding her point of view, at how he wasn't even trying to.

"You know the circumstances. You know why I had to do what I did. In that situation … what else could I have done _Tim_?"

He flinched at her use of his first name, something that he never wanted her to call him by again. She had lost that privilege forever when she'd made the decision to stab him in the back. Now they were just enemies. And enemies didn't refer to each other so cozily with their first names.

Yet she seemed to think that nothing had changed between them and she could go on treating him like her lover boy after her decision. The same decision that she was _still_ claiming that she hadn't actually made. That she had been forced to do it. By the circumstances.

He couldn't help but scoff at that. The circumstances should not have mattered. They would not have mattered had she really truly loved him. Loved him like she had pretended to. As she was _still_ pretending to. And he couldn't stand it.

"You could have honoured your commitment to me…" he said determinedly, a throbbing firestorm in his green depths as he looked at her disappointedly. "Instead you broke it. You broke it and failed to give me the one thing, the _one thing_ I had asked you for."

"I was going to!" Sam cried out desperately her tears now falling messily down her pretty face but he disregarded her words with his own.

"You didn't. You **DIDN'T** ," he emphasized before continuing. "So then why are you so surprised that I went back on my word when you did the same to me?" Crossing his arms over his chest he looked at her chastisingly. "It's only fair Samantha."

"It isn't!" Sam shouted frantically. "Tim I may not have done what you wanted me to but I never once, never ONCE turned my back on you!"

"Yes you did!" he snarled, seething now at her lack of acceptance for her mistake. At how much she was downplaying what she'd done to him. She wasn't stupid, she had to have known this was going to happen if she picked the option that she had. Yet here she was trying to play dumb. Well he wasn't going to let her.

"You knew how I felt, you know what I wanted, and because of that you should have _known_ that every step that you took back towards WOOHP was the equivalent of taking a hundred away from me." Another scoff left him as he said dismissively. "And yet you didn't give a damn."

"That's not t-true," Sam whispered brokenly, her constant sobbing making her choke on her own words. "Just because I had to go back to WOOHP, just because I was _compelled_ to, that doesn't mean that my feelings for you have changed! They haven't changed Tim. Not one bit. Why don't you believe that?!"

She watched him roll his eyes at her looking nothing less than annoyed at even having to be in her presence right now and it cut her down to her core to watch him do that, treat her like some joke, like some nobody when she was here pouring her heart out in front him and begging him for his love.

"Don't do this Tim…" she mumbled quietly, taking another step closer to him as she tried her hardest to get him take her seriously. "Don't shut me out please?" she pleaded with him not to put this brick wall up between them and lock her on the other side.

Stopping just in front of him she bit her lip as she watched him standing there staring back at her wordlessly and she wanted so badly to just reach out and hold him. To hug him and kiss him even though she was no longer allowed to. And that knowledge tormented her. The fact that she couldn't even touch her own fiancée.

More tears rained down her cheeks as she kept looking at him with needful eyes. It wasn't right. He was the man she loved, the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Yet here he was doubting her love and devotion towards him just because he was feeling let down.

"I love you…" she said gently, carefully, afraid that he wouldn't be okay with her even admitting that now. That he'd force her to take it back. "I love you so much … and I know you love me too," she added boldly, his sudden silence giving her courage that he was finally hearing her out.

But when he spoke again all her hope was shattered once more.

"I don't!" he almost barked at her. "I _hate_ you and I regret ever having tried to change that fact. It was the biggest waste of my time and energy and I've never felt more foolish over any decision that I've ever made in my life!"

Shaking his head at himself now he spoke in a tired, defeated sounding voice. "Getting caught up in you was just plain stupid. I should have known it'd end this way."

"…End?" Sam croaked out slowly shaking now from the impact of cruel words and her tears that never stopping coming. "You think it's … over?"

"It **is** over," Scam said decisively and leaving Sam to go into a frenzy as she realized she was losing him more and more with every passing second.

"N-no!" she screamed hysterically. "No it's not over! It's not! You may not remember but I do!" she wailed trying to make him remember too. "I'm the same girl that you fell in love with! The same you wanted to marry!"

Listening to her words he knew he could kick himself right now for ever going that far with her. For ever telling her that he loved her. For touching her. For putting a ring on her finger.

His eyes glanced at her left hand and his blood boiled even more in his veins when he saw that she was still wearing it. Why was she _still_ wearing it? She had no reason to. Not anymore.

"You should take that off you know…" he said pointing to her engagement ring and Sam became horrified at where he was going with this. He…he couldn't be serious. But when he spoke again she realized that he was.

"Because you're not engaged."

"…Yes I am," Sam protested holding her ringed hand close to her chest, close to her heart.

"No you're not. Not anymore…" He said callously as he shrugged his broad shoulders at her calmly. "Not to me anyway. See the woman I fell in love with? The one I wanted to marry? She never existed," he whispered darkly leaving her to gasp in dismay at the meaning hidden behind his words.

And realizing that she was finally getting his point he pressed on wanting to put this whole mess behind him, wipe her from his memory and get on with his life. "You're not that woman Sam." He paused for a second before saying stubbornly, "You **never** were."

And then he said what she never thought she would ever hear him say. Something that made her heart cry tears of blood.

"So take off that ring and end this fantasy. Tell yourself that none of this happened and move on with your life."

Realizing that he did want what she feared most of all, that he did want to end their engagement, their relationship Sam felt her world spin around her as she kept looking at him heartbrokenly not ready to accept this no matter how clear he was making it to her that he was done with her. Because he couldn't be. He couldn't! How could he after everything they had shared?

"I can't do that Tim," she said unwaveringly, letting him know she'd never be the one to end things with them no matter how much he was trying to make it happen. She knew he was just angry and deep down he didn't want this. That deep down he wanted her. Wanted _them_. And so did she.

"You still mean something to me…" she said sincerely. "Everything to me. Tim I-" she paused biting her lip nervously before saying what she wished he'd accept as the truth because it was. And nothing could be truer.

"I still want you. Only you."

Hearing her ignore his wishes yet again Scam could feel his nostrils flaring. She wouldn't let him go would she? She wasn't done playing her games with him just yet. That's all they were. All _they_ had been. A game. A lie. Did she think he was going to fall for this nonsense again? Did she think she could fool him again?

She had no concept of reality did she? Suggesting what she was trying to suggest; that they could still be together after the choice she had made? Did she really think that that could be? Because there was no way that it could after what had transpired.

And then he came to another realization that even if there somehow was even a next to impossible chance that it could still be … he would not let it happen. No he hated her guts for what she had done to him and he'd never see her the same way again. He'd never trust her. Not _her_. Never again.

"But I don't want you Sam. Not anymore," he said, his face harder than she'd ever seen it, any trace of love and tenderness that once used to be there for her now seeming to be gone forever. He almost looked inhuman, as if he were made of stone as he stood there in front of her giving off an aura of pure malevolence.

His eyes fixated on her ring once more he spoke again solemnly. "That ring means nothing to me now. You mean **nothing** to m-"

"You…You don't mean that!" Sam screamed cutting him off before he could finish what he had been trying to say. Something that she would never let him say. "Y-you're ly-lying!" she stammered looking at him with narrowed, upset eyes. "You're such a liar!" She shouted shaking her head almost wildly as she struggled to hold onto what they shared at any cost.

"You love me!" she said getting close to him, no longer caring about giving him space because all it seemed to be doing was making them drift further and further apart. "You'll always love me!" she yelled now standing close enough for her toes to be brushing his as she reached out to wrap her arms around him.

And seeing that Scam took a few steps backwards now realizing his mistake in letting her get so close to him. He didn't want to be _near her_. He didn't want her _near him_.

But as much as he tried to get away, Sam reached him first and stopped him by launching herself in his arms with a force that nearly knocked all the air out of his lungs. Pressing herself against him she clutched his torso for dear life as she buried her face deep into his chest and mumbled over and over again that she loved him.

His eyes widened as he stood there feeling how tightly she was holding him as if she never wanted to let him go. But he knew it wasn't true. Had she not wanted to let him go then she wouldn't have. But she had. She _had_.

But for a moment that thought was pushed to the back of his mind as he became distracted by the feeling of her nestled against him, by her feminine scent, and the warmth of her body.

His eyes lowered halfway as he unconsciously nuzzled the top of her head with his chin as a rush of passion swept through his entire body and a powerful urge came over him. And he at once remembered everything he had been trying so desperately to forget. Him telling her that he loved her, all the times he'd kissed her, and the most vivid memory of all: the night he'd _made love_ to her.

Suddenly feeling his body relax against hers, Sam couldn't help but feel encouraged. Slowly she lifted her head from his chest and peeked up at him only to find that his expression had shifted. His handsome face was still troubled yet somehow looked calmer, more tranquil. And for a moment she saw him, a hint of the man she had fallen in love with staring back at her.

And in that moment she felt all their love and desire for each other even in the midst of all the chaos and she became convinced that he was going to kiss her. He was staring at her with such intensity, such ferocity that she could feel sparks flying between them like they once used to not so long ago until he abruptly reached out and pushed her away from him leaving her gasping in alarm and stumbling back towards the exit of his cell.

Taking deep breaths to calm himself Scam ran a hand though his hair, slightly pulling at his chestnut colored strands while muttering curses at himself for not yet having the strength to be able to be near her without wanting to take her in his arms and wanting to touch her.

Unfortunately it seemed that his feelings for her weren't completely dead yet and he hated that, hated it so very much that he was so pitifully _weak_ when it came to her. And he knew that was only because he had fallen for her hard. Loved her in a way that he never had another living soul. In a way that he never had even known was possible.

But he would get his strength back. He would get her out of his system like a bad drug and in time he would forget all about her. He would make sure of it.

"Get out," he growled not finding it in himself to be able to do any more of this with her.

His voice was like acid to her ears and she knew she was not welcome near him. She knew she didn't want to go, she knew she wanted to keep trying to get him back but she could see how close he was to exploding and she didn't want to push him over the edge.

Knowing she had to leave him alone at least for now before something worse occurred, Sam bit her lip sadly feeling dejected and giving him one last, yearning look as if trying to convey to him that she was never going to give up on them, on him.

But he just averted her eyes turning his back to her and staring at the wall instead. She waited for him to turn back a around and look at her for one long moment then another before finally leaving his cell crying uncontrollably and being unable to stop.

* * *

It had been close to an hour since she'd returned back to her office after seeing Tim but even now her tears would not stop. It pained her so much how everything she had said to him, how her crying in front of him, her begging him to let her have him - all had all fallen on deaf ears. And it was obvious to her that he had already relabeled her as his enemy in his head and closed her out again.

Her tears blurred her vision as she thought back to the moment nearly a year ago when that had changed. Changed in a way that it seemed like it would be permanent.

Back to when they'd first opened up to each other …

 ** _Watching her panting and glaring as she recovered from a kick he'd sent her way, Scam sat up on the floor where she had knocked him off his feet and gave the redhead he was fighting a long, hard look with a small smirk on his lips as he took in the look she was giving him. Her eyes were filled with frustration and he could tell simply by her expression that inside her head she was calling him some rather unsavoury names._**

 ** _And he found himself speaking to her as they both strained catch their breaths and resume fighting. "I really bother you don't I? More so than other enemies?" he chuckled._**

 ** _Rolling her eyes at the amusement in his voice which was there as clear as day Sam decided to just answer him honestly. "Yes, yes you do," she muttered._**

 **" _Why?" he asked, watching her in interest. Cocking an eyebrow at her he smirked harder. "Wait let me guess … is it because unlike the other so called "villains" you face that are just plain jokes who are no real threat to anyone, I actually challenge you?" Another chuckle left him. "You prefer fighting those idiots over me don't you? Heh, Of course you do. They don't even make you break a sweat-"_**

 **" _You bother me because unlike those idiots you are mentioning that are crazy and don't have the capacity to know any better than to act that way, you are sane, you know better and yet you still behave like them," she said cutting him off and making him fall silent. And by the look on his face she realized he hadn't expected her to say that to him._**

 ** _And she didn't know why, maybe it was because she for some reason had his attention right now but she went on saying what she had always anted to say to him, something which she knew that with his IQ he was smart enough to know on his own but for whatever reason acted like he didn't ._**

 **" _Which is why I don't understand you," she sighed. "I just can't wrap my head around why a person as intelligent as you are can't see how destructive your whole deal is. It's so obvious that you're hurting yourself more than anyone else with your behavior and your bad decisions."_**

 ** _Finding him quiet still and noting the awed look on his face as he looked back at her, Sam bit her cheek and scolded herself wondering if she'd gone too far, if she'd said too much. Sighing again she asked herself why was she talking to him anyway? Her job was to capture him not lecture him._**

 ** _But as she put handcuffs on his wrists, something which oddly he didn't even try to stop her from doing this time she found she couldn't help herself and said something more to the man who was now watching her with unblinking eyes._**

 **" _Don't you think your life would be so much better … if you just stopped this?"_**

 **" _Then what else would I do?" he said suddenly breaking his silence. And when she looked up at his face she saw that he wasn't smirking at her or being sarcastic as he normally was. There was genuine curiosity on his face as if he really wanted her to answer him._**

 **" _Tell me Samantha…" he went on looking at her seriously for the first time since she had met him years ago. "Without wanting revenge, without wanting to destroy WOOHP … would else would I do with my life?"_**

 ** _Staring back at him quietly for a long moment because his question had caught her off guard, Sam thought hard to herself before answering him the best that she could._**

 **" _Anything," she said truthfully knowing she wasn't even exaggerating here when she said that. Not when it came to a man like him._**

 **" _Scam, you have the potential to do so much good. If you'd just put your mind into it instead of wasting your talent and your genius on diabolical schemes."_**

 ** _Still staring at her now with even more wonder on his face, Scam took a deep breath looking astonished as he continued talking to her, his enemy. "You …You think I'm capable of change?" he said sounding stunned._**

 ** _Sam bit her lip in thought for a moment before looking at him right in the eye and asking him candidly. "…Don't you?"_**

 ** _And he was rendered speechless at her words._**

To when they made their promise…

 ** _"You're not a bad person Tim…" Sam said looking into his eyes earnestly as she held him close to her. "It's just some of things you've done … your life of crime." She sighed. "If you could just let go of that, if you could just give up your hatred of WOOHP-"_**

 ** _The moment she said that he rolled his eyes and pulled away from her. "So that's it then?" he said glaring at her and looking frustrated. "If I can't let my feud with WOOHP go then you'll never give me another thought. That's why you ended it the first time right?" he said bringing up the time she had first met him, gained a crush on him and then decided not to pursue it any further when she realized he was WOOHP's enemy._**

 ** _"No…" she said softly, trying to calm him down as she moved and gently took his face in her hands and made him look at her even though he was trying not to. "Back then it was easy for me to walk away because I didn't really know you. Now I do and…"_**

 ** _A soft blush bloomed on her face as she looked at the man before her with affectionate eyes that spoke volumes of her feelings for him. "I love you. You know I do."_**

 ** _His face softening at her confession, Scam reached a hand up and ran his fingers through her long crimson hair before pulling her hands off his face and holding them tightly in his own. "Then why the requirement that I give up on revenge against WOOHP? Leave crime?" Biting his cheek he looked at her with serious eyes as he asked," If you love me, really love me then why won't you accept me as is?"_**

 ** _Sensing his doubt towards her feelings when he said that Sam sighed realizing he was seeing this the wrong way. She wasn't scared of stigma or ashamed of him, if she was she'd never have fallen in love with him or at least would have fought a lot harder to resist getting any sort of attachment to him._**

 ** _The way she felt about him, with how deeply she loved him, if it came to it she knew she would elope with him but she just knew he deserved more than that. That his life would be a lot more peaceful, a lot more better without his crimes hanging over his head and a threat of an arrest looming._**

 ** _With that in mind she voiced her thoughts to him but he just shook his head and pulled himself away from her again._**

 ** _"It's always so easy isn't it? To just ask for something Sam," he growled sounded offended. Frowning he began counting off his fingers. "Give up crime Tim," he said glaring. "Stop going after WOOHP Tim."_**

 ** _His eyes looking at her pointedly he spoke again. "But tell me Sam, what would you do if I asked you to give up something for me? If I asked you to meet me in the middle, to quit WOOHP so we don't have to be on opposite sides anymore … would you do that?" His sea green eyes looked at her with a challenge written in them. "Would you do that for me?"_**

 ** _Sam's eyes went wide as she was left speechless in surprise at his request. When she stayed like that, quiet for a few more moments Tim frowned at her deeply before muttering "I thought as much," before turning his back to her and beginning to walk away from her knowing that as much as they had deep feelings for one another, this matter was a giant hurdle between them that they just couldn't get over._**

 ** _And because of that fact nothing more could ever happen between them. It was all talk. And that was all it could ever be._**

 ** _But he stopped in his tracks when he felt her reach out and grab his wrist tightly keeping him from walking away any further. And then she said something that he never once expected her to say._**

 ** _"… I would."_**

 ** _Hearing what she'd said Scam turned around rapidly and looked at her in shock. "…What?" he asked, astounded beyond words._**

 ** _Nodding her head at him to let him know he hadn't heard wrong Sam explained herself further. "If that's what it takes for you to understand how I feel about you then I will. I-"_**

 ** _She took a deep breath in before declaring her decision to him. And she would never go back on her word. He had been betrayed too many times in the past and she would never allow him to be betrayed again. Not by her. Never by her._**

 ** _"I promise you that I'll quit WOOHP. I'll give up my spy career and become a regular woman if you become a regular man and quit crime too."_**

 ** _"…You'd do that?" he asked slowly, completely taken aback by what she had just said to him and still not believing his own ears._**

 ** _Smiling at him sincerely she nodded again. "I would. I will," she said firmly as her eyes shone with all the love she had for him inside her heart. "I'll do it for you. Just for you Tim."_**

 ** _Dead silence followed her words and Sam wondered nervously if he was still doubting her intentions and feelings for him when suddenly she felt him pull her into his embrace and hold her tight as he whispered in her ear._**

 ** _"Then I give you my word that I'll give up crime. I'll become the man that you see in me … I'll change Samantha. I'll do it for you. Just for you."_**

 ** _A shuddering breath left her as tears of joy welled up in her eyes and some fell down her face. Pulling back from him she looked up and into his eyes and saw all the integrity and sincerity on his face and she knew he meant every word of what he'd just said._**

 ** _Feeling him wipe away her tears she smiled before throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him. And he kissed her back instantly, sealing their promise to one another and for once and for all, their feelings for each other._**

To when they decided they'd be together forever…

 ** _Turning the key into the doorknob of their new home Sam opened the door and was about to step inside when she was left gasping in surprise when the man next to her suddenly grabbed her arm, pulled her back against his chest before reaching down, picking her up in his arms and carrying her bridal style._**

 **" _Wha-what are you doing?" Sam asked looking at her boyfriend with curious eyes._**

 ** _But Tim just smirked at her, happiness showing in his sea foam eyes as he looked back at her and shrugged his shoulders. "Just following tradition darlin'," he drawled._**

 **" _What tradition?" Sam asked wrapping her arms around his neck while he carried her inside, her curiosity only growing as she pondered over what on earth he was talking about. Knowing him he was probably just looking for more excuses to touch her. A deep, red blush outlined her face. Not that she minded of course._**

 ** _But he just shrugged at her again and simply said that she knew which one._**

 ** _Shaking her head at his antics Sam smiled wider before giving him a pointed look. "No I don't. If I did then I wouldn't be asking Tim."_**

 ** _Sighing he shook his head as well, grumbling to himself incoherently before finally answering her question. "The tradition that when a husband brings his new wife home for the first time, he's supposed to carry her over the threshold."_**

 ** _He set her down before turning and locking the door behind them. Turning away from him to put her purse down on the coffee table Sam didn't say anything for a moment only blinking in confusion before she turned back around to face him. "I know that tradition. But we're not marri-"_**

 ** _A loud gasp left her when she found Tim in front of her down on one knee._**

 ** _And watching her eyes widen, Scam couldn't help but smirk at how cute she looked right now watching him like that that with her green eyes peeled wide, tears of joy starting to form in them while a rosy blush begun to spread across her cheeks._**

 **" _Oh my God … Tim…" she breathed out softly while her heart jumped up and down inside her chest. Was he really going to - He was proposing to her?_**

 **" _I'm sure you know where this is going already. It's obvious now but …" pausing for a second he reached into his pocket and pulled out a beautiful, shimmering, diamond ring before slowly slipping it onto her ring finger where it fit perfectly._**

 ** _Smirking harder he kept his gaze locked with hers, wanting to see her every reaction as he asked her what he had to, asked her the most important question he had ever asked anyone in his life and ever would._**

 **" _Samantha Katherine Simpson … Will you marry me?"_**

 **" _Yes!" Sam cried out automatically giving him her answer and hearing it his face lit up immediately, a smile unlike any she had ever seen before formed on his lips and she knew she had never seen him look happier._**

 ** _Smiling back at him just as happily she moved and slunk down onto the floor with him and threw her arms around him hugging him to her fiercely._**

 **" _I love you so much Tim," she half sobbed, half laughed as she held him as tightly as she could never wanting to ever let go. He hugged her back just as closely and whispered back to her still smiling._**

 **" _I love you too."_**

Her eyes sadly glanced at that same ring that was still on her finger, the same that he'd just told her meant nothing to him now. But she refused to take it off and end this. It wasn't over for her. He meant everything to her! But she knew he didn't believe her. She knew that he'd locked himself back up in that iron fort that he'd once had around himself and that no one was allowed in… her least of all.

Sighing she couldn't help but remember how far they'd come from back when they used to be enemies but at this moment it seemed as if that had all been some kind of dream. That it had never even happened. It was apparent that he hated her now maybe even more than he used to back then.

Sighing harder she felt her tears falling again. Who was she kidding? He definitely hated her more now after he thought she had personally given him a reason to.

Remembering his eyes she recalled how he had looked at her with so much malice, with so much accusation and disgust. And it killed her. She couldn't bear to have him look at her like that not with those same eyes that used to look at her with so much love, compassion, and gentleness.

Had she lost him forever? She knew that as much as she denied it that she _was_ the one to blame but she honestly didn't have a choice. She never wanted to make that choice but she hadn't lied when she'd tried to explain to him that she hadn't had an option, not with what had happened.

Somehow she had to get him hear her out and accept that. Somehow before he completely severed their bond and destroyed her along with himself in the process.

"...Are you okay?"

Sam slightly jumped when she heard Jerry's voice speaking to her suddenly. Looking up she found her old boss watching her with concerned, fatherly eyes. Wiping away her tears hastily she smiled at him as best she could. "I'm fine," she lied. "Just stressed out I guess."

And as he watched her trying to hide her misery from him Jerry felt the same guilt that he had been trying so hard to rid himself of growing inside him rapidly. He had really been hoping and praying that by now the dust would have settled and Sam would be okay but-

"You're doing a good job you know?" he said trying to cheer her up and get her mind off of who he wasn't _supposed_ to know she was crying over and she smiled lightly, thanking him but confessing that she wasn't really sure that she was.

He insisted that she was and told her that he wasn't worried about WOOHP as long as it was in her hands and that he knew she would prove a worthy heir and successor.

"Thank you Jerry," she said but he could still see how she was holding back tears with the way she bit her cheek and kept taking deep breaths as if to keep her composure. "I'll do my very best to make you proud."

Taking note of the way Jerry was watching her, with an expression that looked worried sick Sam became concerned that he could somehow tell, that he would somehow find out why he'd just seen her crying. And she knew she didn't want him to know that yet. It was going to be a huge shock to him. It was going to be a huge shock to everyone but she knew he would be impacted most of all and that was why she didn't want to put him through this yet. Not in his condition.

She had to wait for the right moment and when it came she would tell him. She didn't want to hide it much longer and give Tim more fuel to doubt and hate her but for now she had to keep her mouth shut. Just until Jerry was okay again and could handle it.

"So how are you recovering?" she asked and Jerry stood there in silence for a long moment at her question as he remembered again what he had done, his direct contribution to her sorrow and guilt consumed him again for how he'd unintentionally hurt a girl that was close enough to him to be his own daughter.

Unable to look her in the eye Jerry looked down and quietly said that he was fine.

"You shouldn't be here," she said looking at him thoughtfully. "I'll look after WOOHP don't worry. It's why you handed it over to me remember?" Smiling she spoke again. "You should go get some rest Jer so that you can recover fully."

Nodding his head he smiled shortly still unable to meet eyes with her as he turned to leave. But on a hunch he paused just outside the office's doors and waited a few moments before peeking in at Sam again. And just as he had feared the moment she thought he was no longer there… she was crying again.

Feeling his heart clench inside his chest almost painfully as remorse overran his senses Jerry turned and slowly walked down to the parking lot where his car was all the while feeling lower than dirt. Getting in his black car he closed the door and sat there for a long moment in the dimly lit lot as he tried to forget what he had seen.

But try as he might he couldn't erase Sam's heartbroken face nor her tears from his memory. And even if she hadn't told him, he knew _exactly_ what that reason was why she was in so much pain right now.

Reaching a hand up he slowly pulled down his car's sun blocker and retrieved the brown paper envelope he had received some days back from an unknown source. Taking in a deep breath he reopened the broken seal and pulled out what he knew was inside. Photographs. Five of them.

Photos of Sam and Tim Scam _together_.

Forcing himself to look at them again, Jerry flipped through each one slowly. Taking his time as he tried to look at them in a different light than he had on first glance.

 _The first_ showed Sam standing in the circle of Tim's embrace in what he recognized was the living room of her own home with her arms wrapped around his neck while his were held tightly around her waist as they looked back at each other both smiling in a way that he'd never witnessed either of them smile before.

 _The second_ was one where Sam and Scam were sitting together on a couch. Her head was resting on his shoulder and his arm was around her as he held her close to him, nuzzling to top of her head with his chin. Both their eyes were closed and both were smiling softly doing nothing but being with each other and seeming to be at complete peace.

 _The third_ appeared to be taken during the winter outside on a snow covered street. Scam had his arms wrapped securely around Sam as he kept her tucked against him within the folds of his black, woolen trench coat to keep her warm. His forehead was pressed against hers as he regarded her with half closed eyes and Sam was blushing softly as she looked back at him with her own eyes nearly brimming over with love.

 _The fourth_ showed them sharing a passionate kiss. Scam's hands were lost in Sam's long red hair as he kissed her and Samantha had her eyes pressed shut tightly while her hands held his face close to her as she kissed him back looking as if she never wanted to stop.

 _And finally_ the last picture showed the both of them laying in bed together. Sam's head was pressed against Scam's chest while her arms were wrapped loosely around his torso as she snuggled against him under the blankets. His left arm was wrapped around her shoulders holding her bare body close to his while his right hand cupped the back of her head cradling it close to his heart. Sam's hair was fanned out across her back and around his chest while her emerald eyes, half lidded and hazy were locked on him as she smiled up at him lovingly while he kissed her forehead.

And when he put aside the fact that all these pictures showed one of his best WOOHP agents being intimate with one of WOOHP's greatest enemies, the only thing he had bothered to notice when he'd first looked at them with shocked, confused eyes …

He noticed for the first time how happy Sam looked in each and every one. How her eyes seemed to sparkle and come alive every time she was with Tim and how Tim Scam had never looked more innocent and more human than he did in these photographs of him and Sam together.

And he asked himself belatedly as guilt hammered through his every pore … in his rash judgment had he done something wrong? By deciding to break Sam and Tim Scam apart?

… Had he made a grievous mistake?

* * *

*depressed sigh* Poor Scam and Sam. ;_;

Also this ended up being a lot longer than I planned but I wanted to build up the ending properly so I had to do all the flashbacks and gah! I fail at writing small things, everyone knows! xD

Anyway!

So I honestly dunno where I am going with this in the sense that I have no idea _if_ this will be continued, be a chaptered story a one-shot. I am leaning towards it being a _**one-shot**_ if it happens just because I feel it'd flow better that way? I don't know lol I guess I'll wait to see what y'all think about this before I decide. :D

I actually had this idea for a while and I randomly got inspired for it while working on the other one-shot (which is still coming. It's long that's why it's taking me a while to finish it) so I decided to write it and post it up for you guys to see.

Please drop me a **review** or **comment** with your thoughts on this! I'd love to hear them! :)

 ** _PS:_** My original middle name for Sam was going to be "Elizabeth" but then I realized I had a story where she has an older sister with that name so I had to choose something else. xD

Thanks guys!

Cresenta ^_^


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